The clinching ball hit the net cord, dangled and dropped over, bouncing twice on the Bow side before the Falcons could get a racket on it. That point sealed what would be a 6-3 win for Conant in the Division III girls’ tennis final. And it showed just how slim the difference was between these two teams.
When they met on May 14, the Falcons won four of the six singles matches and claimed a 5-4 win, the only loss of the season for No. 2 Conant (15-1). When they met in Wednesday’s final at The Derryfield School, the Orioles won four of six singles (two in tiebreakers) and handed No. 1 Bow (16-1) its only loss of the season.
“The two matches weren’t that different, really,” Conant Coach Jody Baker said. “We just played a little bit better in singles this time.”
“Two tiebreakers. Two tiebreakers. That was the difference,” Bow Coach Jonsey Rainville said. “If we win one of those two I think maybe it’s a different story.”
This was the sixth straight year Bow has reached the D-III final four. They’ve been to four title matches in that span and won two championships (2011 and 2013). It was the third straight finals appearance for Conant and the first tennis title, girls or boys, in school history.
The Falcons took an early lead on Wednesday when senior captain Laura Zbehlik rolled to an 8-0 win at No. 1 against Shannon Bennett.
“Normally it’s pretty close between Shannon and me, but it’s the championship and I came ready to play and she was a little behind on that,” Zbehlik said. “She was making a lot of errors and I capitalized. I think I was just playing smarter than she was today.”
Seeing that kind of performance from Zbehlik, who is the No. 4 seed in the state singles tournament, is nothing new for her coach.
“Laura has had one focus since day one and that’s just to go out and play every game her hardest, every match her hardest and that’s what she does,” Rainville said.
Conant answered with an 8-4 win at No. 4 from Megan Wheeler, who used her athleticism and tenacity to beat Claire Mulvaney.
Bow claimed the next point when Julia Currier ran off seven straight games for an 8-2 win over Esther Varnum.
“I start down a lot and I just have to get in a groove. Once I figure out my player, I can normally get the lead, just like I did today,” Currier said. “I started moving her around because it’s hot, and I kept pushing her forehand and then switching to her backhand and she would not be ready for it.”
Currier had never played tennis before this season (she played varsity lacrosse for three years), but she’s good friends with Zbehlik and decided to give the courts a try this spring. She worked her way up to No. 6 by the first match and she stayed there all season, going 16-1 in singles.
“My goal was to get to the top six and I’m just really lucky I had a team that supported me and helped me learn the whole time,” Currier said.
Conant evened things up again when Alex Dunn won, 8-4, at No. 3 against Casey Day. From there, it was all about the tiebreakers.
Bow’s Sarah Zecha was down 6-3 at No. 5 against Helen Soney but fought all the way back to force the tiebreaker. That stayed tight for the first half as the two players switched sides at 3-3, but Soney’s flat, consistent forehand took over from there and she went on to a 9-8 (7-4) win.
The final two points were errors by Zecha, but both balls were out by mere inches, another sign of how close things were between the Falcons and Orioles. And it took Soney’s top tennis to squeak out the win.
“Helen Soney probably played the best singles she played for me all year,” Baker said. “So it was nice to bring out your best for the final stage.”
It was the opposite story (sort of) at No. 2 singles, where Bow’s Nandita Kasireddy held a 6-3 lead over Franka Clauss, a German exchange student, before Clauss came back to force a tiebreaker. And, like it was at No. 5, this tiebreaker was tied at 3-3 before Clauss upped her consistency to take a 9-8 (7-3) win and give her team a commanding 4-2 lead going into doubles.
“We felt good after singles, but we were also saying we can’t get overconfident,” Baker said. “We only needed one, but all three of the doubles were close last time.”
This time, Conant’s top team of Bennett and Clauss found another gear. The pair used smart ground strokes and decisive volleys to win four of the last five games and clinch the championship with an 8-4 win against Zbehlik and Mulvaney.
“They just had our number in doubles,” Zbehlik said.
Bow’s Kasireddy and Zecha bounced back from their tiebreaker losses and won 8-6 at third doubles. And Conant’s Soney and Varnum won 8-6 at second doubles to complete the scoring and the season.